Chapter Six

“I mean who really says stuff like that?” Amanda asked.

Nathan laughed just as Mrs. Spivey brought several plates of food. She hurried away, and they tackled their meal.

“How long do you think it will be until you hear from your bank?” Amanda asked.

Nathan had been wondering the same thing. Would it take longer, given that they had probably thought him deceased? He hoped not.

“I don’t know, frankly. As you can imagine, they must have thought me dead. Well, perhaps not quite dead. The owner of the bank, my dear friend, Robert Chamberlain, is married to a time traveler, and he knew you and I were taking a journey to the future. I assume that he thinks I may have chosen to stay in the future with you, that perhaps we changed our minds, though that would hardly be likely given we were so close to the wedding. Nevertheless, he could not have said anything to any of the bank staff. Only Robert Chamberlain, Stephen Sadler, Rory O’Rourke, their wives and one or two others know about the time traveling. It is hardly something that we can readily advertise, of course. I do not know if my account is frozen or closed or whether my grandfather has control of my funds now. We shall soon see.”

“Your poor grandfather,” Amanda murmured. “He’ll be so happy to see you, won’t he?”

Nathan smiled and nodded. “If the shock of my reappearance does not send him to his grave. As I mentioned, he did not know about the time traveling, so it is likely he thought you and I must have perished in some mysterious way. I don’t know that Robert would have told him the truth—that we were traveling in time.”

“Well, you’re almost home. Do they have telephones or anything yet? I can’t remember when those came out?” Amanda surveyed the room as if to find one. “Maybe you could call your grandfather.”

“Yes, we do have telephones although I don’t know if Mrs. Spivey has one. However, I don’t wish to have a switchboard operator listen to any conversation I might have with either the bank or my grandfather. I think it best I wait until I reach home to talk to my grandfather. A few more days will not make a difference.”

Amanda nodded and applied herself to her food. Nathan watched her out of the corner of his eye. She had a hearty appetite, had always had one. That at least had not changed. In the light of day, she looked remarkably the same. Perhaps her hair had grown a few inches. She styled it similarly to when he had first encountered her—in a ponytail. He had adored the chestnut color, the silky feel of the curls beneath his fingers, and had he often dreamed of the day when he could bury his face in her unbound hair. A dull ache in the center of his chest caught him by surprise.

Would that ever come to pass? Could Amanda fall in love with him again and consent to marry him? Was it possible for the same woman to fall in love with the same man twice? Such questions were beyond the realm of most peoples’ experiences.

“What’s wrong?” Amanda asked.

He had been unaware she had looked up from her breakfast to catch him staring at her.

“Nothing, my dear,” he said with a shake of his head. “I was wondering at how much you have changed over the past year.”

Amanda stilled. “Have I changed? Too much?”

Nathan shrugged his shoulders. “Not physically. But certainly you are not the same woman I knew a year ago.”

Amanda dropped her eyes. A red hue stained her cheeks. “Sorry,” she murmured in such a low voice he almost missed it.

Nathan’s heart rolled over. Had he inadvertently hurt her feelings?

“I am afraid my phrasing was clumsy, Amanda. I am the one who should apologize. What I meant to say was that you are not the same woman who knew and loved me well enough to marry me. Circumstances have changed. However, I do not believe you have changed—your tastes, your dislikes, your likes. In fact, I am counting on the latter!”

Amanda looked up in confusion, and Nathan wished he had not been so forthcoming. He found himself so desperate to make Amanda fall in love with him again that he was saying whatever was on his mind. Although he and Amanda had felt an immediate connection when they first met, the course of their romance had occurred more naturally that time, even given the fact that she was out of time and place. He had to stop pressing her. He was only making matters worse.

“I apologize. I am mumbling. Pay no attention to me.” He dropped his eyes and picked up his fork.

Thankfully, Mrs. Spivey entered at that moment because Nathan was at a loss for uncomplicated conversation.

“I’ve put a few things in your room upstairs, Mrs. Carpenter, and I stepped out for a minute and went next door to speak to Murphy’s Clothing Store about your problem. Jim Murphy and my husband have known each other since they were kids. Mrs. Murphy agreed to outfit you on credit if we vouch for you, which I did.”

Nathan jumped up and took Mrs. Spivey’s hand. “Thank you, madam. Thank you very much. That was most kind of you.”

Mrs. Spivey blushed. “It was nothing. Mr. Spivey and I talked about you this morning, and we agreed that you had the air of a man of means about you, that you were most likely being truthful.”

Nathan shot Amanda a rueful look. He supposed “most likely being truthful” was an affirmation of some sort. He found the Spiveys to be a brusquely-spoken couple, but more than generous.

He turned back to Mrs. Spivey, her roughened hand still in his. He gave it a final shake before releasing it. “Thank you again for your trust. I will not let you down.”

Mrs. Spivey nodded, picked up a few dishes and turned to leave the room. She paused at the door and looked over her shoulder.

“I can have a nice hot supper for you when you return this evening. Will you be here?”

Nathan and Amanda looked at each other and nodded.

“Yes, of course, Mrs. Spivey. We look forward to it,” Nathan said.

She nodded and left the room.

Nathan, alone again with Amanda, found it difficult to meet her eyes. He picked up his cup of coffee and savored it.

“They’re nice, if a little rough around the edges,” Amanda ventured.

Nathan nodded. “Yes, they have surprised me. I consider ourselves fortunate to have encountered them.”

“Well, I’m done with breakfast. I guess I’ll go see what Mrs. Spivey has dropped off in the room for me.” Amanda rose from her chair, and Nathan leapt from his seat to pull her chair back.

“When you are ready, we can visit the shop next door and see what Mrs. Murphy has available for us. I would like to visit Mr. Spivey at the station as well and see if a telegram from my bank has arrived.”

Amanda nodded and left the room to climb the stairs. Nathan sat down again to finish his coffee, eyeing the now empty doorway with a fervent wish that Amanda might come dashing back through the door to declare her love for him. But that did not happen.

He lingered at the table for about fifteen minutes and then climbed the stairs to knock on Amanda’s door.

“Yes?” Amanda called out, her voice high-pitched, almost ragged. Nathan’s heart began to race.

“Amanda! Are you all right? Is anything wrong?”

“No,” she squeaked. “Well, yes. I...can’t...get...this...button...undone!”

Nathan’s shoulders sagged with relief. She had come to no harm.

“May I enter? Can I help?”

“Yes,” she called faintly.

Nathan opened the door to find Amanda fully dressed in a dark blue cotton skirt and a plain white shirtwaist blouse. She stood in front of the small mirror on the wall above the dresser, her neck tilted back as she struggled with the top button of the high-necked blouse. Her hair hung down in soft waves to the middle of her back.

He moved to stand behind her, clasping his hands behind his back to restrain himself from touching her hair.

“How can I help?” He cleared his throat of its huskiness.

She turned toward him, her face reddened. “I can’t breathe! This collar is too high. I buttoned it and now I can’t get it undone! Can you undo this button? I’m about to rip it off, but I don’t want to do that to Mrs. Spivey’s shirt.”

Nathan grinned. Amanda did indeed look as if she were choking.

“Yes, of course.” He reached for the button. “Tilt your head back again.”

“I am,” she moaned. “As far as I can!”

Nathan loosened the top button. “Do you want the entire collar unbuttoned?”

“Oh, yes, please!” She closed her eyes and waited.

Nathan undid the other two buttons, exposing the soft skin of her throat. Against his better judgment, he bent to kiss her neck, a favorite pastime of his when they were engaged.

Amanda gasped and jumped away. She clutched at her throat and stared at him.

Nathan pressed his lips together and shook his head. “Forgive me. I should not have done that, but I could not resist. That kiss used to make you giggle with delight. You said it tickled you.”

Amanda bit her lower lip. “I don’t remember it,” she murmured.

“No, I am fully aware that you don’t,” Nathan muttered, his eyes on the floor. “And I should have remembered that I am now a stranger to you. Again, I apologize.”

“That’s okay,” she said quietly. “I can fully understand why I might have giggled with delight.”

Nathan looked up quickly, hope rising in his heart.

Amanda smiled quickly and moved toward the mirror as if to end the conversation. “Thanks for busting me out of this collar. I hope it’s okay to wear it open. Now, what should I do about my hair? I notice Mrs. Spivey wears hers up in a bun.” Her matter-of-fact voice brooked no further sentimental discussion.

“She does. Most adult women wear their hair up. When you first came, you did not enjoy having your hair on top of your head, but you grew used to it.”

She caught his eyes in the mirror. “It’s still so hard to hear you talk about me in the past tense. I almost feel like I have amnesia.”

Nathan shook his head. “Not amnesia. No loss of memory. For you, we have never met before. It is a very difficult concept for me to grasp as well.”

“Can you help me do my hair?”

Nathan drew in a sharp breath. “You asked me that very question the last time.”

Amanda’s cheeks, still red from her exertions, brightened even further.

“Did I? How did that work out for us?”

“Very well,” he murmured. “In the absence of pins, we used a band to tie up your hair. I believe you wore it at breakfast?”

“This one?” Amanda held up a small circle of purple.

“Yes, something similar. I became quite proficient at it until my housekeeper took over and did a far better job of dressing your hair. May I?”

Amanda nodded.

Nathan pulled her hair up into a ponytail and wrapped the band around the base. He then twisted the ponytail into a chignon and tightened it within the band. Small curly tendrils drifted down the back of her neck, but he resisted the urge to run his fingers along the back of her neck...or to kiss it. Perhaps another opportunity would come at a later date. He had never wished for anything more.

Amanda reached up to touch the chignon at the crown of her head. “Nice job!” she said with a smile. “You have had some practice with this, haven’t you?”

Nathan smiled. “Yes, but only with you, my love.”

Amanda turned slowly to face him. “You know, you keep calling me by these endearments, Nathan, but I’m not sure I deserve them. I really don’t feel like you know me, no matter how many times you tell me we were once engaged.”

Nathan sighed deeply and nodded. “I understand, Amanda. I do try to avoid using them as I imagine you must think I’m imposing myself on you, but the endearments will erupt from my mouth of their own accord. A matter of habit, I think. I will try to stop.”

“Well, you don’t have to stop...exactly. I was just commenting.” Amanda turned away quickly and crossed the room to slip into her black canvas deck-style shoes. “Do you think these shoes will be noticeable? What does Mrs. Spivey wear for shoes?”

Nathan watched her, his mind in a whirlwind. The kaleidoscope of her emotions confused him, and he did not know what she wanted. He had been honest with her. She wasn’t the same woman he had fallen in love with, but then again she hadn’t been faced with a complete stranger from the past who claimed to have once loved her.

“No, I do not think anyone will see your shoes. The skirt Mrs. Spivey loaned you is long enough to cover them. I imagine Mrs. Spivey wears a dark boot. Most women do for daytime wear. Slippers for evening.”

“Well, let’s go see what’s outside. Wenatchee in 1906. I can’t imagine.” Her smile appeared forced, and Nathan thought he recognized the worry on her face...the same fear of the unknown she’d had when she had arrived before.

He held out his arm to her. “Everything will be all right, Amanda. I promise you.” He vowed to see that happen, though what form it might take he could not say.